As week 8 approaches I have to look back and wonder where the season as gone so far. I just can not believe we are already breaking down the week 8 plays as it feels like it was just yesterday that I watched the Thursday game for week 1.
Looking back on last week we certainly hit some home runs in the RB/DEF category and we definitely found some passing game points via our QB/WR combos, even though most of the damage came via the QB parts of our picks. The one returner/def combo that worked out was Amendola and NE as Amendola put up a pretty good game for us and NE didn’t hurt us in any way. I guess you can include Tavon Austin and the Rams as Austin scored double digit points on DK while the Rams defense was the top play of the weekend.
So enough looking back at last weekend as we have a slate to get to for week 8 that has some interesting match-ups where it makes a number of plays stand out well above the rest.
QB/WR Stacks
My top option for the weekend is the one that gets to take on the team that we picked on heavily last weekend as the Chargers get to take on the leaky pass defense of the Ravens this weekend. Philip Rivers/Keenan Allen/Ladarius Green is a trio that I am going to have in a number of my GPP lineups this weekend as Rivers is on pace to absolutely shatter the NFL record for attempts in a season as the Chargers just can not run the football right now. If you wanted to add an interesting name to the passing stack, I would include a guy like Danny Woodhead. I know the Ravens are actually pretty good against the TE this season, however Green is an interesting match-up for them and the fact that he is just 3K on a site like DK makes him an instant option for me. My number two option is going back to last weekend’s number 1 choice as the Arizona passing game should be in a great spot against a Browns defense that does not scare anybody. Carson Palmer/Larry Fitzgerald/Michael Floyd are the guys I will be looking at as it sounds like John Brown may get a week off to rest his hamstring issues. With this trio I will most likely will be just rolling with Palmer and 1 WR stacking in GPPs as I also really love the Cardinals running game in this one. Floyd is the really cheap one here and I think makes a great cash and GPP play.
My number 3 option might surprise a little bit, however I think Ben Roethlisberger/Antonio Brown come out with something to prove with Big Ben’s return and Brown’s disappearance from the offense without him. Generally we don’t think of the AFC North has a high scoring division, however I think this Steelers-Bengals match-up has the ability to be the highest scoring game of the weekend. I will be using this combo in some GPP’s as I think Brown could really explode and do what we expected him to do weekly this season. My number 4 combination for this weekend is Brian Hoyer/DeAndre Hopkins as I think the offense gets back to getting the ball into Hopkins’ hands early and often in order to let him get to work. Nate Washington is an interesting option as Shorts has been ruled out already, however I like what this duo does when they are on the field trying to make up for the loss of Arian Foster. My fifth option for the weekend is going to be Cam Newton/Greg Olsen as they get to face the Colts on MNF. I think this is a great cash game pairing and think it’s still worthy of a GPP lineup or two. Newton does so much that he gets you points even when he is struggling and the Colts are just terrible against the TE position. If you want a sleeper duo, I think Matt Ryan/Julio Jones are in a spot to get right this weekend and that could mean a big 10 for 180 type game for Julio as the passing game of the Falcons has really struggled over the last few weeks.
RB/DEF Stacks
The number 1 combination for week 8 is going to be the same number 1 from last weekend as Todd Gurley/St Louis Rams are in a dream spot yet again. We get to see a price jump for both of them in comparison to last weekend’s prices which may lower the ownership in comparison to the extremely high numbers of last weekend. Gurley should be able to pound away on the weak 49ers defense while the Rams defense gets to take on a Hyde-less 49ers offense, who may also be without Anquan Boldin. My number 2 choice is going to be Devonta Freeman/Atlanta Falcons after Freeman kind of disappointed last weekend as he didn’t find the end zone and was unable to completely payoff his rising salary. I think Freeman gets back to his end zone ways with a multiple TD game while the Falcons defense gets the turnover prone Jameis Winston. My third choice is going to be Marshawn Lynch/Seattle Seahawks as Lynch seems to be 100% and running angry finally. The Seahawks defense has looked pretty solid and I just do not think Matt Cassel has what it takes to beat this defense in week 8. My fourth combination is Chris Johnson/Arizona Cardinals as Johnson should be able to run all over the Browns terrible run defense while the Cardinals defense is capable of putting up big plays especially against a one dimensional offense. I think a sneaky choice is Jonathan Stewart/Carolina Panthers as we all have seen Andrew Luck recently and can all agree that there’s something that just is not right with his arm and the Colts turn the ball over quite a bit.
Returner/DEF Stacks
Have to start this one out with my favorite combination as Tyler Lockett/Seattle are always going to find themselves on this list. Lockett is extremely dangerous and seems to be somebody they want to get involved in the offense more and more as he is a big play threat. He is capable of taking any kick back to the house while also catching a screen and taking it to the end zone. My second choice is going to be Tavon Austin/St Louis as Austin seems to be the Rams’ version of Lockett on offense as they try to get him the ball in space. He has a rushing TD, receiving TD and a return TD on the season. If you wanted a third option that may be sneaky or interesting, I would look at Dwayne Harris/NYG. Harris stays pretty involved in the pass offense and the Giants get to face a Saints team giving up a crap load of yards per game through the air, while Harris recently showed how dangerous he can be on returns. The NYG defense is not one that intrigues me greatly this weekend however they have been better than you would expect and Brees has shown a tendency to turn the ball over this season.
That brings an end to week 8’s Stacks article, I hope you find it to be helpful and may it bring you some extra 0’s in your payouts. As always, feel free to leave comments below or find me on twitter and let me know how I screwed up your weekend (or hopefully how I helped ya ship some money to your bank account). Best of luck everybody!!! (unless you picked up one of my H2H games 🙂 )
